We profile the best apps to teach your child how to spend and save responsibly

Children will be taught how to manage their money in schools across England for the first time this September.

Financial education – already taught in schools in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland – will be included in maths and citizenship education for secondary school pupils.

Campaigners hailed the move as a "boon for the country", but there has been some debate about how much time will be dedicated to financial capability. The IFS School of Finance, for example, has expressed concern that financial education would get only a few hours per term of teaching time.

Many parents will want their children to have a grasp of basic maths and money management before they hit secondary school in any case.

Children are spending increasing amounts on time online, often using their parents' credit cards to purchase items.

Here, we profile a few apps suitable for children from preschool to university that help teach them about managing money.

Apps for preschool

Simple apps can be very effective at introducing children to basic maths such as addition and subtraction, according to Holly Seddon of Quibly, a parental advice website.

Parents on Quibly have recommended Little Digits for IOS (Apple devices), which is based on finger counting and costs £1.49.

“All the numbers are designed like little creatures,” said Ms Seddon. “Simple sums such as 1+3 pop up, and kids place four fingers on the screen. It’s simple but effective.” Equivalents for Android are Numberjacks (£1.49) or the free Kids Numbers and Math.

Apps for schoolchildren

GoHenry is a tool aimed at eight to 18-year-olds, where parents set up an account and link it to an account for their child. The child's account comes with a prepaid Visa debit card.

Parents set up automatic pocket money transfers and can control spending limits and where the card can be used. The child can receive extra money for completing tasks and set savings goals.

It costs £1.97 a month (or £23.64 a year) per child for each GoHenry account. The service also has a mobile app. UK cash withdrawals and loading the card using a bank transfer are free. Loading a card from a debit card costs 50p per load.

A challenger card, Osper, launched this month, also with a mobile app. The cards, backed by MasterCard, can be used to withdraw cash at an ATM or make purchases online. The child can see when their card has been loaded and when the next allowance is due.

It is free for the first year and will cost £10 a year after that. The service allows for six free ATM withdrawals a month, with a 25p charge for each additional withdrawal. It also allows parents to load the card up to six times a month for no charge, with a 25p for each additional load.

Meanwhile, Rooster Bank is an online piggy bank where children are rewarded for saving and keeping track of their income and outgoings. Parents give their children money through "virtual tokens" and children can save it, donate it to charity or spend it in the Rooster shop – the service sends the product to parents, who approve and complete the purchase. The Rooster Shop is affiliated with Amazon.

Goldstar Savings Bank (£1.99, iPad) aims to make saving fun for players aged four to nine years old. Users complete tasks to earn money, which can then be saved or spent.

Apps for teenagers

Both NatWest and Barclays offer money management advice and resources for students – handy for teenagers going to university or starting a job.

The charity PFEG, which supports financial education in schools, has a free app called My Money Shaker, a pirate-themed financial education app aimed at 16-19-year-olds.